


The Clock Keeps Turning

by cardworkMagician



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Aradia "Crazy Face" Megido, F/M, Fluff, That One Fic Where Karkat Doesn't Actually Say Fuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-07
Updated: 2013-06-07
Packaged: 2017-12-14 04:44:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/832885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cardworkMagician/pseuds/cardworkMagician
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>TICK<br/>TOCK<br/>Do you hear your heart beat?<br/>Or is it hers?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Clock Keeps Turning

Karkat suggested movie night on the meteor, and the idea was an instant hit. Rose said that it would “help foster intercultural cooperation” and Karkat wanted to get other peoples’ opinions on the relation between human and troll cinema. Terezi wasn’t particularly interested until Rose pointed out that humans had Crime Dramas, which was the gateway for getting Terezi into human cinema in general. Kanaya came of course, because Rose was there.

Dave was just glad to have something to do.

It settled into a routine; every week, everyone brought a movie. What followed was invariably a two hour argument about which movie to pick. Dave wasn’t allowed to pick movies for a while, thanks to a debacle involving explaining the cultural connotations of Space Jam to the non-human audience members. The only variations in the routine were the occasional visit from a Dreambubble, where dead trolls and the occasional living one would trickle in alone, in pairs, or one time in packs of ten or more. The “theater” as it was, consisted of two armchairs, a couch, and a coffee table, so seating was nearly always an issue when extras showed up.

One night, not long after Dave had broken things off with Terezi, the group had settled on something to watch; Terezi had been particularly insistent on a courtroom drama that Dave had never heard of, a TV series called Boston Legal. Dave and Karkat had relented pretty quickly, knowing that Terezi might not be in the best of moods, and Kanaya and Rose only made a halfhearted argument in favor of Chicago before giving in. Everyone was settling down to watch the pilot episode when the door opened.

“WHOA, HEY!” Karkat was the first to greet the newcomer; from his vantage point on the right side of the couch, nearest the door, he could see best, while Dave, on the opposite side, was lying draped over the arm of the couch and wishing for popcorn. He saw Rose and Kanaya, who had occupied a single armchair, turn and wave at the newcomer, and decided it might be someone worth getting up for.

Short, shorter than Kanaya or Rose. Bright red. Curling horns that brought an ox to mind more than anything else. Bright, prismatic wings that shone in the dim light of the projector. A smile on her face wider than was humanly possible. Eyes that looked like a ruddy, uncut ruby plucked straight from the ground, set in pools of molten wax. Dave would’ve liked to think of a better metaphor from them but he was quickly distracted by an unbidden memory.

Rising out of the green sun, dripping with the power that fueled deities, sword in hand, the newly risen god of time joining his elemental compatriot. A single shared glance, and TOCK

TICK

TOCK

TICK

TOCK

Across a few feet of space, two unknown minds which had never yet met, and the barriers of species, their clocks met, United, and Synchronized.

TICK

Empty hours, nothing to do before the Meteor arrived except explore memories in the bubbles. Aradia had taught him about life on Alternia, and he did his best to show her around Earth. She was...weird. Her face was the strangest; at first glance, she looked human, but after a good look, all the proportions were slightly off, the mouth too wide, the eyes too low, forehead too large. But Dave had focused on what he’d liked about her; endlessly cheery, and hair that flowed like liquid obsidian. Rose took to Sollux, and the two pairs became friends while they waited for the meteors to arrive. But Dave had been waiting for Terezi, and Aradia knew it.

Did she know how much things had changed?

TICK

TOCK

And there it was again. Their beats, shorn apart by relativity and by life in the Furthest Ring, were in sync again. As Dave rose to look Aradia in the eyes, she looked to meet him, and their eyes met in the same moment. Dave swallowed, and Aradia’s wings fluttered.

“hi” they both said at the same time. Dave didn’t comment, but Aradia giggled, before turning slightly away to address the group at large.

“so what are you guys watching tonight?” She smiled, looking at the TV and walking towards the couch; her wings began slowly curling in towards her body as she walked.

“BOSTON L3G4L.” Terezi answered in her usual rasp. “1TS 4 HUM4N COURTROOM COM3DY” Aradia smiled at Terezi and sat down in the middle of the couch, between Dave and Terezi, her wings entirely folded against her back by the time she reached the couch. Dave inhaled sharply as she sat down; she was definitely closer to him than to Karkat.

Definitely.

Terezi shot the duo a glare, and it just about felt like she’d finally turned that cane sword on his gut, but Aradia didn’t even notice, and Terezi turned back to the show a moment later.

Dave barely registered the show. He was more interested in the girl next to him. How she kept smiling through the whole show. How her eyes...he couldn’t describe them with gemstone-related similes, no matter how hard he tried to think of one, mostly because he couldn’t think of a grey gemstone with red speckles in it.

Dave, being sixteen, also noticed some other things about Aradia; she’d certainly filled out since he last saw her, especially, he noticed, in the chest department. A single thought crossed his mind when he noticed that; do trolls wear bras?

TICK

Aradia looked over at him, and smiled. Dave nodded at her, outwardly calm but inwardly remembering she was psychic; had she heard him, somehow? Was that a thing she did? Or was it coincidence?

TOCK

She scooted a few inches closer to him. At this point, Dave assumed two things; one, there was no way it was coincidence. She’d heard him thinking. Two; she was into him. Like, totally, definitely into him. It was the only thing that made sense.

Dave wasn’t sure where the time went when he realized that the show was over, and he assumed Aradia must have stolen the time from him, if that made any sense. More likely, he’d just focused too much on her and forgot about everything else. As usual, Kanaya and Rose were the first ones to leave the theater. Karkat glanced at Aradia, then at Dave. He stared at him until Dave looked back, and, during a moment Aradia looked away, gave him a thumbs up, then spun on his heel and walked out.

And suddenly they were alone.

TICK

The first thing that occurred to Dave was that he hadn’t said anything to Aradia except “hi” in the last two and a half years, and suddenly here he was alone in a room with her and almost certain she was into him.

TOCK

She broke the silence; “so how’s the trip been?” Asking as casually as if he’d driven to Oklahoma. He answered, equally nonchalant.

“oh you know the usual mix of ghosts and drama and ghost drama and nuclear reality shattering laser beams from evil skull gods what have you been up to”

“helping the dead settle and searching for a superweapon that might mean the salvation of everyone.”

“cool” She didn’t take his brushing off what she’s been doing as an insult, or belittlement. She chuckles. She actually thinks it’s funny.

She thinks you’re funny.

“so has anyone moved into my room?” she looked out towards the door to the theater “i’m thinking about staying a while, get some peace and quiet and time away.”

“uh yeah i took your room actually” Dave gulped as she looked back at him quizzically. “karkat said to pick whichever i liked and yours didnt have a big ol drawing of cat troll and karkat macking on each other so i went with yours” Aradia smiles her too-wide smile, and says something that made him sweat.

“that’s fine the room is big enough for two!”

\---

turntechGodhead began pestering tentacleTherapist

TG: rose what do i do a troll lady just insisted on moving in with me and i think she might like me and i have no idea whats even going on  
TT: Ah yes I expected you to come to me.  
TT: After all my mastery of troll romance is unparalleled.  
TT: It’s not as if I was simply solicited by a woman whose idea of subtlety is charging into battle, screaming, with a chainsaw.  
TG: what are you saying  
TT: That I’m the wrong person to talk to. My knowledge of troll romance is mostly gleaned from offhand comments on the part of Kanaya and a single rather trashy romance novel I acquired from Karkat.  
TT: Which should lead you onto the proper train of thought.  
TG: oh no  
TG: i guess i have to do that now.  
TT: Indeed you do.  
TT: Have fun.

\---

Dave sighed and looked up from his timetop and at Aradia. She was lying at the edge of his bed, her head and arms over the edge as she rifled through the mess that Dave had habitually strewn across the floor. Mixed in with his stuff was some of Aradia’s belongings that Dave had never cleared out when he moved into the room, mostly the occasional whip.

Dave was about to pester Karkat when Aradia squealed, a high pitched “ohmygod!” that hurt Dave’s ears a bit. He was about to see what it was Aradia had found when she sat up, holding a huge chunk of amber with a dead frog in it. Aradia’s grinning at it, holding it up to the light and turning it every which way. “ribbit!” she said; Dave blinked at that, but passed it off as trolls being weird.

Then she set the thing down and hugged Dave, closing her eyes and cuddling up to him.

Dave, being the coolkid that he was, put one arm around her, but otherwise didn’t shift; mostly looking at his timetop’s screen as he did what he had to do.

turntechGodhead[TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist[CG]

TG: hey kar what exactly does it mean when a troll girl visits your room and checks out your stuff then lies down on bed with you and is now cuddling up next to me and sniffing my cape  
CG: TO PUT IT IN TERMS THAT YOU WILL UNDERSTAND DESPITE YOUR HABIT OF PUTTING IN HEADPHONES AND CRANKING YOUR SLAM POETRY TO MAX VOLUME WHEN I BRING UP QUADRANTS.  
CG: IT MEANS SHE’S IN LOVE WITH YOU.  
TG: awesome  
TG: how the hell did that happen  
CG: I HONESTLY HAVEN’T GOT A SINGLE CLUE. ARADIA HAS HAD A RATHER INTERESTING ROMANTIC HISTORY.  
TG: tell me about it  
CG: WAS THAT A REQUEST OR WERE YOU AGREEING WITH MY STATEMENT?  
TG: request  
TG: i figure if im getting into this i may as well know what the hell lead up to it  
CG: GOOD THINKING. NOW I HAVE TO PUT THIS IN TERMS YOU UNDERSTAND.  
CG: YOU REMEMBER EQUIUS?  
TG: what was his handle  
CG: CT  
TG: oh god that guy yes i remember him  
TG: wait  
TG: shit  
TG: what does that have to do with aradia  
CG: HE MADE A ROBOT BODY FOR HER AFTER SHE DIED BUT HE PUT A CHIP IN HER HEART TO MAKE HER LOVE HER BECAUSE HE’D BEEN LUSTING AFTER HER FOR SWEEPS.  
TG: what the fuck man  
CG: TRUST ME, THIS IS SKEEVY BY OUR STANDARDS.  
CG: ANYWAY SHE TORE HER HEART OUT TO GET RID OF THE CHIP.  
CG: THEN SHE AND HIM STARTED VACILLATING, WHICH IS WHERE THEY SWITCH BETWEEN HATE ROMANCE AND LOVE ROMANCE.  
CG: I HATE MYSELF FOR OVERSIMPLIFYING THIS BUT YOU NEED IT.  
CG: ANYWAY THAT DIDN’T REALLY PAN OUT AND I’M NOT SURE HOW IT ENDED  
CG: ARADIA ALSO HAD A BIT OF A RELATIONSHIP WITH SOLLUX.  
CG: BUT HE WAS ALWAYS REALLY CAGEY ABOUT IT AND NEVER TOLD ME MUCH.  
CG: GIVEN ARADIA’S ACTIONS THOUGH I DON’T THINK THEY’RE TOGETHER.  
TG: i sure hope not  
TG: i  
TG: i think shes asleep  
TG: is she like narcoleptic or something  
CG: NO. SHE WAS PROBABLY JUST TIRED.  
TG: well thats a good sign i think  
TG: so is this whole thing with her coming and laying next to me and falling asleep like a casual thing trolls do all the time  
CG: WE ARE MURDEROUS, BACKSTABBING, SCHEMING WARRIORS.  
CG: WHAT PART OF OUR CULTURE WOULD INDICATE THAT CUDDLING UP AND SLEEPING IS A NORMAL THING.  
TG: got a point there i guess  
CG: GETTING WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE IS INTIMATE FOR US.  
CG: SHE’S BASICALLY DOING THE MOST OVERT SOLICITATION I’VE EVER SEEN.  
TG: oh shit shes moving

Aradia stirred, blinked, smiled her too-wide smile, leaned up, and kissed Dave on the cheek.

TICK

TOCK

TICK

TOCK

Still in sync? Good. Time to chat.

“aradia” Dave opens, tense, not wanting to ruin anything. “i dont wanna complain or put you off or anything because i like this but arent we maybe moving a bit fast” Aradia looked at Dave, then shifted to sit cross-legged next to him, her face serious. Dave continued. “i mean i dont even know your last name and i barely know anything about troll girls or troll romance like is this red or pale or what do those even mean” It suddenly struck Dave, as he said that, that he might have just been very rude or insensitive, brushing off a cornerstone of troll culture like it was nothing. He was about to apologize when Aradia spoke.

“megido.”

“mega-whatnow?” Dave seriously hoped she hadn’t swapped languages. Her alternate self was weird enough with that.

“my last name. aradia megido. as for what this is, well, youre cute, we have a lot in common, you collect dead stuff. i’m lonely and there’s nothing out there for me except reminders of how things could be better. so i seek solace with my few living compatriots, a relief from the doleful task of handmaid, and i see this highly attractive guy i met for a few hours a while back and have a bunch in common with. naturally im gonna try to get together with him.” Dave raised his eyebrows and looked at Aradia over his shades.

“that was actually really poetic aradia” He said. “rose could criticize it properly but ill just say it sounded nice.” She smiled, but it was a soft tug at the corners of her mouth, not that great wide grin.

“so do you want to be my matesprit” she asked, looking nervous, and Dave knew she’d been wanting to ask that for a while. At least since she reached the meteor. Dave stretched time, pulling it taut so he could weigh his options.

On one hand, he had no idea what he was getting into; he barely knew Aradia. She was cute, definitely, but would Terezi get mad at him? And what would it be like to have a girlfriend who could read his mind?

He was about to wonder about the possibilities of turning her down when she interrupted him.

“sorry to put you on the spot dave but you dont need to stall” you blink, and she shifts; her hair moves at what looks like normal speed; it should have looked fast, Dave was in slow life. He tossed the dead-thing-in-amber from his hand, and it flew abnormally fast before landing on the ground.

TICK

TOCK

Of course she could match speeds with him. Shit. She was the Maid of Time, after all, and just as divine as he was.

So instead of stalling more, Dave decided to answer her.

“yep”

\---

CG: DAVE?  
CG: DAVE?  
CG: IT’S BEEN FIVE WHOLE MINUTES WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?  
TG: hey karkat!  
CG: FINALLY.  
CG: WHAT HAPPENED?  
TG: loads of fun stuff.  
TG: this is going pretty well i’d say.  
CG: WHY IS THERE PUNCTUATION.  
CG: OH.  
CG: OH  
CG: ARADIA?  
TG: ;D


End file.
